Carrying on alone
by thisamybelongsinthetardis
Summary: Um set at the end of the fourth book, where Hermione and Ron are unexplainably left to carry on alone. Contains mild Romione and maybe some Nuna but i haven't decided. Please read and review! Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that all belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything new though is mine! This is just fanfiction i dont mean to offend anyone by anything!
1. Chapter 1

Starting at the end of the fourth book

Hermione and Ron were devastated. They could see no hope, no way to carry on. Their greatest, loyalist and most amazing friend had been murdered by Voldemort when the Portkey that was the Triwizard cup took Harry and Cedric to that despicable graveyard. Cedric Diggory came back clutching Harry's body, panting, bleeding and crying over the loss of one of the finest boys the wizarding world has ever seen. As he escaped through use of the Portkey, a knife was thrown stabbing him in the heart as he Portkey-ed away. Despite being just minutes away from death when he appeared back at Hogwarts, he still managed to die in his proud father's arms- a sight that still brings tears to any witness of the scene.

None of the Dursley's attended Harry's funeral. When Dumbledore made that sad, heartfelt visit to Number 4 Privet Drive, nothing touched him more than the look Petunia gave him as he handed over a share of Harry's Gringotts wealth, Harry's clothes and a vast selection of wizarding sweets and goodies to help ease the pain. Although they appeared nonchalant on the outside about the whole event, they each felt heartache. The Dursley's, especially Petunia, had grown fond of the boy and had often wish he show them some magic to help with the chores.

Surprisingly, a third year named Romilda Vane was more openly saddened than anyone could have expected. Neither Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred or George had ever heard of her, so when they questioned her as to her obvious portrayal of sadness, she was forced to admit that she was so madly in love with Harry that that she stole his underwear simply to smell it. Naturally, the 6 were disgusted by this and they never spoke to her again.

This whole turn of events posed a difficult decision for Dumbledore. Obviously Harry had been spoken about in the Prophecy, it fitted perfectly, but Voldemort must see himself having a greater enemy. Had Voldemort's greatest enemy be there, Voldemort would be at large. (This is Dumbledore we're talking about, he knows about potions which could raise Voldemort up again into human form) "Voldemort isn't dumb either" Dumbledore mused "The six O's he gained while here prove that, and his exquisite knowledge of Divination" Yet more musings occurred.

"He knows that to make him as strong as possible he would require the blood of his archenemy." Cedric had also spoken of someone "killing the spare" in his last few moments alive, so if Harry was killed, surely he was unimportant- but the prophecy? All this was very confusing to Dumbledore, and it took him many days of pondering and pacing up and down his office to come up with a logical and possible answer to this conundrum.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dumbledore had solved it- Neville must have been the one spoken of in the prophecy. Everything fits, the birthday, and Voldemort had even tried to kill Neville when he was little. Just not very successfully, as he turned up to their house a day after they had conveniently moved to Shropshire. So if Neville was the one spoken of, why was Harry taken to the graveyard? "Wormtail… always confused and messing things up the little bastard." muttered Dumbledore. Voldy's companions weren't exactly smartest bunch; Wormtail must have got confused again. At least Voldy was still weak, had Neville been there then surely Voldy would have gone the whole hog and returned and risen once again. Dumbledore took a moment for it all to sink in. Neville Longbottom? The idiot from Gryffindor? A brave idiot, by any means, but only time will tell.  
"The poor boy, how do we tell him? How do we break it to him that a racist, muggle-hating, serial killer is after him? He'll be traumatised! Especially as Voldemort was always after Harry and never looked twice at targeting him again!"  
The logic did make sense. Although Harry had been an enemy, to torture ones parents would leave a much greater emotional mark of hatred than to just kill them. This would allow Neville to be the true enemy of Voldemort.

A/N Thank you for all the views, but it would be nice to have some follows, favourites and reviews! Please? If I do I will try harder to make the chapters better, this one wasn't very good sorry :(


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Chapter 3- something different next chapter, and I hope this one is better than the last! However if I don't get at least one helpful review then I won't be publishing another chapter, as I feel without your suggestions I can't carry on! Let me know if you want the Nuna romance to carry on or not please!**

Ron and Hermione didn't really know what to do with themselves. In the last few days of term, after all the foreign students had left, they were lost. They would spend most of their time wandering about the grounds, holding hands grieving Harry's death one moment, and having extreme shouting matches the next. Today was one of the shouting days.

"You made him stay in the competition you inconsiderate ginger head" screamed Hermione.  
"You pressured him into winning- if he was crap he wouldn't have got to the cup first you frizz ball of beaver face" retorted Ron.  
"Yes, and as a result if he was crap he would have been killed…oh" replied a slightly smaller Hermione. She carried on- must always act brave, she said. Be a Neville.  
"Butt-knuckle"  
"Turnip face"

Clearly, both of them would get an Outstanding in insults and general sassiness. After a typical shouting match, they would both turn on their heels and promptly storm away, only to return and awkwardly apologise an hour later, saying that each other is all they have got now Harry went and kicked the bucket. Then Hermione would be temporarily relieved from her recently developed anxiety disorder, and Ron from his Low Self Esteem, and for around 2 hours in the evening they would be at peace. They would still be with heartache, but with temporary peace inside them, just in the company of each other.

Today is not one of those days. Today, Hermione had had enough. Her best friend was dead, and her best-friend-maybe-more-undecided was…well… being a jerk. She understood that we all grieve in different ways, and Ron had just lost his best friend, his brother, but seriously? You would have thought they could grieve together, or at least be able to talk about it and comfort each other.  
At least she had Luna, Neville and Ginny. Well, really only Ginny, as Neville and Luna had 'unofficially' got together and were inseparable these days. They claimed they were comforting each other, but seriously who are they kidding. Hermione knew that they were really sneaking to the Room of Requirement and improving their kissing skills. It was sweet really, that Harry's death allowed Luna and Neville to get together, as they always felt awkward around each other when Harry was there.

Ron however was properly alone (as nearly all the Gryffindor boys had become sullen and awkward around him) and Hermione liked it that way. It gave her more power.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Sorry i haven't updated in a loooong long time, had lots of school pressure and its harder to write fanfiction in class with a biology teacher breathing down your back. Enjoy! Thank you also to my lovely reviewers, iknowwhereyoulive (Stephie) and emilyy234, more would be nice!**

Draco didn't know what to make of Harry's death; he nearly fainted in the stadium when he found out. At first he was shocked, and then pleased, and then he felt cheated, and finally he experienced sadness. A pure, raw sadness which lodges in your heart. He didn't know why, he hated Harry, of course he did, Harry was a muggle-loving Gryffindor. Harry Potter, common scum, was the opposite of the superior Draco Malfoy; Draco was much classier and chose his friends wisely. So why did he feel sad? Malfoy had not had this feeling since Pansy Parkinson rejected him as a Hogsmede date. Probably after the Yule Ball she had gone off him, the garlic soup was probably a bad choice of meal.

He suddenly felt this rush of despair inside him. What was he going to do in his spare time anymore? Now that Harry was dead, who was Draco going to sass? It sounded lame even in Draco's head. Longbottom was an easy target and may ruin his reputation, and none of the other Gryffindors had the same connection that he had with Harry. He couldn't fight a Hufflepuff, it would make him look weak, but he wasn't smart enough to fight a Ravenclaw, he privately admitted.

Crabbe and Goyle just didn't get it you know? They didn't know what an emotional struggle it was like to lose an enemy so suddenly, and not even to your own hands. "Ah well, time to move on and not dwell on the past" muttered Draco. "Let's get on with life and go any annoy Peeves". All this raced through Draco's head within an hour of Harry's death- clearly; Draco only cared a little for his death. Little did Draco know that Harry's death would not be troubling him much longer.

Typically, the last lesson of the term was Potions between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors with Professor Snape. Snape seemed to have a lighter heart today, probably joyous with the knowledge that he would never see the Potter boy again, even if it did mean he had finally lost all touch with Lily Potter. He was also glad he would have a whole summer free of hormonal teenagers, 6 whole weeks off with not a 14 year old in sight. Today they were experimenting with combustion powder, based on the muggle concept of fire. He had concocted a mix of flammable powders which he planned to float in the air and set on fire- a bit of a potions party trick. The class filed in, rowdier than usual, with Draco leading them with another round of "Potter Stinks"- a game in which the Slytherins list reasons on why they are glad Potter died. No sooner than they were all in the room did Snape flick his wand and ignite the invisible powder, giving the illusion that the air was on fire. It was a magnificent show, with red, green and blue flames, but once it was over Snape set them a 2 foot essay on the uses of sodium. And that was when Malfoy spontaneously combusted into blue and green flames and promptly shrivelled up into a pile of ash on the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

Snape sighed and muttered a counter curse which would return the powder to its original state- but it was too late. Draco was gone and Snape was in trouble. Dumbledore was conflicted, it was an accident, but still it was a dangerous experiment and Snape should have done something. Dumbledore had to deal with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy breathing down his back, and he had to deal with Rita Skeeter reporting some crap about Hogwarts being unsafe for students. Actually, Hermione had taken care of her, and even though what she had done was against school policy, Dumbledore was glad of Rita's "disappearance". Even though what she would have reported was true, Hogwarts was becoming dangerous for students, he was in denial himself and he didn't want to admit the school was falling to pieces because of him becoming Headmaster.

The Holidays arrived and students were sent home on a much quieter and more subdued Hogwarts Express. Harry's usual compartment was filled with laughter, as Fred and George were playing a loud game of Exploding Snap and would jokily hex anyone who became too quiet and had to remind them all that Malfoy was dead- they didn't want the holidays to be full of mourning. Ginny however was close to death herself. She was already struggling against Low Self Esteem without Harry going and dying- but now she had to accept that. She honestly felt as if there was no point to living, but she had to remind herself that she was staying with Luna in the holidays for a bit, and that would cheer her up a bit- just to have some girl time. The train reached King's Cross, and they filed out towards a loving Mrs Weasley with her arms wide ready to welcome them, when Ginny caught Luna just to confirm her staying with them. "Luna… hey Luna!" Ginny shouted, trying to get her attention. "Hey, you definitely are having me to stay in the holidays aren't you?" said Ginny, trying to hide the note of despair in her voice. "Aww Ginny I meant that as a joke! I'm going backpacking in Devon for the whole holidays!" Ginny felt dead inside. One of her only friends had pranked her at an emotional time, and even though it was a small matter, it meant the world to Ginny.

She turned to go to her family who were waiting for her, to cry in her mother's arms, when the Hogwarts Express started coughing, signalling it was about to depart back to Hogwarts behind her. She must have been hallucinating, as she could have sworn she was Harry on the other side of the track, so she broke out into a jog towards the rails, ready to reach him in any way she could. She reached the platform edge with shouts of "Ginny! Hurry up!" behind her, which she barely heard. She stared at the mirage of Harry, when the Hogwarts Express started moving magically at full speed about 200m behind her. As there was no driver on the return journey, the train left the station at full speed and smacked straight into Ginny as she stepped out onto the track.

Earlier that day, Snape went home. He had a lot on his mind, and asked to leave early. Dumbledore granted it, and he Apparated from Hogsmede around 4pm. He barely had an hour to himself when none other than Sirius Black arrived at his door, brandishing a knife. "How DARE you! Allowing Harry to die like that and then MURDERING another student! I'll kill you myself!" Snape stood up and soon a fully-fledged duel was about, hexes flying everywhere, slowly destroying Snape's house while both of them became more and more bloodthirsty and desperate. The duel went on for many hours, deep into the night, when finally the Killing curses came out. Snape flashed a jet of green light at Sirius who was throwing the knife at Snape as a last resort- Sirius got hit by the curse and was gone. He died with a laugh on his face as he saw the knife stab Snape cleanly through the heart. Snape was gone within a minute, and his last thought was that of relief, of escaping the mad world while killing his childhood enemy. Both of them thought the same words as they died- 'Mission accomplished'.

** A/N sorry for all the killing, the power of the pen may have got to my head... sorry for not updating in a while, there's this thing called school and apparently i have to pay attention in lessons to get my GCSE's... thank you for all your lovely views, don't forget to review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Sorry for the long wait, I had my exams and then I was ill for a while :( long chapter to make up for it, I've tried to make it a good one :) For ease of writing, I have imagined Luna and Harry were friends in fourth year, otherwise Luna would not be in this story and she is a really important character in Harry's life. Anyway, enjoy!**

It was 2 weeks into the Holidays and Hermione, to put it bluntly, was like walking death. Her best friend was dead, the closest thing she had ever had to a sister had committed suicide just moments before they were free for the holidays, and word had reached her ears that the last wizarding connection directly to Harry was now dead. Even though she had only met Sirius a year ago, he was important to the three of them and now he was gone it felt like they had lost an uncle or a close friend. Ron wasn't helping her much, they had had mutual silence ever since they went their separate ways for the holidays, but Hermione expected Ron was having a much tougher time of it than her, losing his sister and his best friend in the same week.

It wasn't just the excruciating pain or loss and the sense of incoming doom that destroyed Hermione. The nightmares were the worst, unlike anything she had ever experienced. She couldn't control them and every night she would refuse to go to sleep until 5 in the morning for fear of the nightmares. Every night she imagined Harry's death in a different way, each with her as the killer. She knew it was ludicrous in her heart that she could never have killed Harry and she was no way responsible for his death, but still she felt guilty and hated herself for allowing it to happen.

Sitting on her bed, she thought back to the moment Cedric had come back clutching his body. She and Ron were in the stands, clutching onto a banner Luna had made, anxiously peering at the maze to see if they could see Harry with the cup. Cedric had appeared out of nowhere, and the way he had landed obscured Harry's body from Hermione and Ron so at first they didn't know what the fuss was about. Then the screams came from Molly Weasley, and the crowd parted to allow the pair through with everyone turning their heads away, anything to avoid eye contact. At first, they descended the stand stairs in confusion, as they still could not see Harry's corpse. As the whispers grew louder, they began to run in confusion and then desperation as they heard what the school was saying- "_The Boy who Lived, Harry Potter, he died!" _

When Hermione saw Harry's corpse, she laughed and looked around uncertainly, as if it was one big joke and Harry was going to jump back up and laugh with her. But when Ron stopped laughing and walked over to Harry, kneeling over his corpse in desperation, she let out an ear splitting scream. Her whole world crumbled and all she was aware of was Ron, the ground and the loud noise that was issuing from her mouth that she had no control over. Hermione collapsed into Ron and they fell onto the ground, kneeling over Harry's body and she began sobbing into his chest. Neville, Ginny and Luna had joined them by now, and were trying to extract Hermione from Harry while hiding their own grief, and were trying to coax Ron back into reality- his face was an off white colour and he was staring with a blank expression at Harry, as still as a corpse. If it wasn't for the loud sobs that occasionally came from his mouth and the steady stream of tears running down his face you could have said he had also been hit by the Killing Curse. The next thing either of them knew was that they awoke from a peaceful (thanks to some heavy potion dosage) sleep in the Hospital wing where the distraught faces of Neville, Luna and Ginny were quietly sobbing and quite frankly all 3 of them looked rather worse for wear. They came over and the 5 of them were locked in an embrace for quite some time, each of them remembering the best about Harry and doing their best to 'hug it out'.

Tonight Hermione dreamed she had ordered the cup to be a Portkey and it had taken them to the Slytherin dungeons, where she wore a snake-like mask and killed Harry with an offhand Killing Curse while eating a doughnut.


End file.
